Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events in Hong Kong

Main > Olympic Equestrian Events > Disciplines > Jumping

Jumping

Introduction

Jumping competition dates back to the 19th century. The first Grand Prix jumping event held in Paris in 1866 enhanced the international status of the sport. Jumping became an Olympic discipline in 1900, with two categories - High Jump and Long Jump. In the early years, the military dominated the event until the first civilian won the gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Games.

Rules

The rider and horse combination is required to clear a series of 10 to 13 obstacles in the prescribed order along a set course, to test the pair's skill, accuracy and training. The obstacles include vertical obstacles, spread obstacles, water jump, double/treble combinations as well as walls.

For more details, please refer to competition format and rules. The French version is available here.

Judging

	If the horse refuses to jump or knocks down the fence(s), the rider will incur 4 penalty points. If they exceed the time allowed, additional penalty points will be incurred.
	The horse and rider will be eliminated after a second refusal as well as any fall.
	The winner is the horse and rider combination with the least penalty points. In the case of a tie, the competitors will enter into a jump-off round to determine the ranking. In case of another tie, the combination with the fastest time wins.

After horse inspection, 77 athletes from 29 nations compete in Jumping in 2008.

Acknowledgements: we would like to thank Getty Images, the Hong Kong SAR Government, Hong Kong Jockey Club, FEI,
Riding for the Disabled Association Limited, Xinhua & Fung Kai Yan for providing some of the pictures for this website

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